Portable structural support base



Dec. 17, 19 68 J. J. M HUGH PORTABLE STRUCTURAL SUPPORT BASE I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 29, 1967 01 75/1003., #4151 x MFA/06W, 2r

Dec. 17, 1968 J. J. M HUGH PORTABLE STRUCTURAL SUPPORT BASE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 29, 1967 Des. 37, 3968 J, J. MGHUGH 3,416,27fl

PORTABLE STRUCTURAL SUPPORT BASE Filed May 29, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,416,270 PORTABLE STRUCTURAL SUPPORT BASE James J. McHugh, Joliet, Ill., assignor to McVee Industries, Inc., Joliet, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed May 29, 1967, Ser. No. 642,095 8 Claims. (Cl. 5236) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A portable support bed formed by posts anchored at the desired bed location, base caps with a box-like cap portion slipped over and seated upon the top of the posts and with support arms extending horizontally from the cap portion, and hollow rails each interfit at its opposite end for support with a support arm. The posts, base caps, and rails each being light enough to be readily transported and assembled by one man. The posts being suitable for mounting the support bed on a rooftop or elsewhere and, for purposes of a rooftop-type installation, having a connecting strip surrounding thepost at a level slightly above the normal level of the roof and adapted to be fastened to the roofing material, a skirt with a tetrahedral truncated pyramid configuration to support the roofing material fastened to the connecting strip so as to provide drainage away therefrom, and a hood with a tetrahedral truncated pyramid configuration overhanging the connecting strip to deflect precipitation away therefrom.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a novel support structure and, more particularly, to a lightweight, portable support structure readily transported and assembled by one man.

As a general rule, equipment such as industrial air conditioners, cooling towers, heating units, compressors, exhaust fans and the like are mounted on support beds. Heretofore, the component parts of such beds have generally been structural steel members such as I-beams, H- beams, and channels each weighing as much as several tons and the bed has been constructed by Welding these parts together at the site where the support structure is desired. The primary disadvantages of this prior support bed construction is the effort involved in transporting the component parts to the assembly site and, once there, the time involved in completing the assembly. As an example of these disadvantages, a five man crew plus a crane are frequently employed to transport the component parts of a typical support bed for an industrial air conditioner to the plant rooftop and, once there, many man-hours are consumed in positioning and welding these heavy parts to form the bed.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a lightweight, portable support bed for heavy industrial equipment which may be transported and assembled by one man even when a rooftop installation is involved. A related object is the provision of a support structure which may be assembled by one man in a few minutes time.

Another object of this invention is to provide a load carrying post suitable for use either in mounting a support structure on a rooftop or elsewhere. A more specific related object is to provide a support structure load carrying post which may be anchored to a structural member of a roof without impairing the watertightness of the roof.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which:

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a simple support structure constructed in accordance with this invention with a 3,416,270 Patented Dec. 17, 1968 typical piece of supported equipment diagrammatically shown in phantom;

FIG. 2 is in part a longitudinal section and in part a front elevation of any one of the posts of FIG. 1 showing the post assembly and illustrating the manner in which the post is installed on a rooftop;

FIG. 3 is an underside perspective of a two-way corner shown seated on the top of the posts in FIGS. 1 and 2; FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a three-way T-cross seated on a post;

FIG. 5 is in part a longitudinal section taken along the line 5--5 of FIG. 4 and in part a front elevation of a post with an extension shaft;

FIG. 6 is an underside perspective of a three-way T- cross such as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5;

FIGS. 7-11 are fragmentary perspectives illustrating various other alternative base caps with the seating member, which may be the column of FIG. 2 or the extension shaft of FIG. 6, shown in phantom. Thus, FIG. 7 illustrates a one-way L with top post, FIG. 8 illustrates a two way corner with top post, FIG. 9 illustrates a three-way T-cross with top post, FIG. 10 illustrates a four-way cross with top post, and FIG. 11 illustrates a simple cap.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION While the invention is described in connection with a particular embodiment, it will be understood that there is no intent to limit the invention to that embodiment. To the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Turning now to the drawings in which like reference numerals indicate like parts and particularly to FIG. 1, it will be seen that in keeping with this invention a structurally strong support bed is formed by component parts which may be readily transported and assembled by one man. Thus, the simple bed shown is formed by slipping a two-way corner 21 on top of each of the posts 22 and then interconnecting the posts by sliding the ends of the rails 23 over the support arms 24 (FIG. 2) which extend horizontally from the cap portion 25. The assembly may then be completed by bolting the post base plates 26 to a suitable structural member of the place of installation and the rails 23 to the support arms 24 as discussed more fully with reference to FIG. 2.

To provide the necessary strength to support a heavy piece of equipment 27 and yet permit the component parts of the bed to be transported and assembled by one man, the parts are preferably formed from sheet and tubular steel. For the same reason, the rails 23, which are formed of tubular steel, are preferably limited in length to approximately 5-10 feet. Of course, this preferred limitation on the length of the rails 23 does not impose a limit on the size of the equipment 27 which may be supported since larger support beds may be constructed by placing posts with a cap such as a two-way T (i.e., a cap with oppositely directed horizontally extending support arms) intermediate the corners of the bed.

Referring to FIG. 2 and the construction of a typical one of the posts 22, to carry the load, the post 22 includes a vertical column 31 which is secured at its lower end by welding or the like to the base plate 26 and which provides at its upper end a seat for the cap 25. In order to minimize the weight of the post 22, the column 31 is preferably formed of tubular steel. Further, to facilitate assembly, the cap portion 25 of the base cap and the column 31 both preferably have generally square cross sections with the outside diameter of the column 31 being slightly smaller, say by inch, than the inside diameter of the cap portion 25. This permits the assembler to fit the cap portion over the top of the column 31 with tightness of the roof. To this end, the posts 22 have a con-' necting strip 32, such as a wood strip, surrounding the column 31 at a level slightly above the normal level of the roof and fixed to the column 31 as by the screws 34. Thus, the bed may be installed on a roof by fastening the roofing material 35 to the connecting strip 32 as by the tacks 36 and by anchoring the base plate 26 to a structural member underlying the roofing material, such as the I-beam 37, by the bolts 38 or the like.

The point at which the roofing material 35 is fastened to the connecting strip 32 provides a natural area of weakness in the watertight integrity of the roof. To prevent leakage from occurring at this point, the posts 22 also include a skirt 41 and a hood 42 both of which surround the column 31.

To support the roofing material 35 so as to provide gravity drainage away from the connecting strip 32, the skirt 41 is in the form of a truncated pyramid flaring downwardly from a narrow neck watertightly secured to the column 31 adjacent and below the connecting strip 32 to a broader base watertightly secured to the base plate 26. Inasmuch as roofing material, such as tar paper and the like, is generally laid lengthwise and crosswise of the building, the skirt 41 is preferably a tetrahedral truncated pyramid. This configuration permits the roofing material 35 to be lapped over the skirt 41 for fastening to the connecting strip 32 with the least disturbance in the normal pattern of the roofing material and, consequently, with the least danger of destroying the watertight integrity of the roof.

To deflect precipitation away from the connecting strip 32, the hood 42 is watertightly secured to the column 31 and overhangs the connecting strip 32. In order to simplify manufacture of the posts 22, the hood 42 may have the same configuration as the skirt 41. Typically, both are constructed from steel sheets cut and welded to form the desired configuration.

Additional weather protection may be provided for the area of the connecting strip 32 by an auxiliary shield 43 enclosing all but the lower portion of the connecting strip 32. To this end, the auxiliary shield 43 is formed by an angle member with a horizontal leg 44 secured to the column slightly above the connecting strip 32 and a vertical leg 45 extending downwardly in spaced relation to the connecting strip 32. In order to enable the installer to fasten the roofing material 35 to the connecting strip 32 and yet provide the maximum weather protection for this vital area, the vertical leg 44 should terminate slightly above, say A; inch, the bottom of the connecting strip.

The rails 23 are interfit for support at their opposite ends with the arms 24 which extend horizontally from the cap portions 25. In keeping with the previously stated desirable feature of this invention that the weight of the component parts of the bed be minimized, the arms 24, like the rails 23, are preferably formed of steel tubing. Moreover, to facilitate assembly, the rails 23 and support arms 24 preferably have generally square cross-sections with the outside diameter of one, the support arm 24 as illustrated, being slightly smaller, say A inch, than the inside diameter of the other, the rail 23 in the embodiment shown. This permits the installer to simply slide these parts together with minimum preliminary orientation of the parts. Once the rail 23 and support arm 24 have been interfit, a bolt 47 or the like may be used to join them together.

Turning now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the post 22 illustrated is the same as previously described with reference to 4 FIGS. 1 and 2 with the exception that an extension shaft 51 has been added to provide additional elevation for the support bed. Also, to illustrate another of the many possible alternative base caps a three-way T cross 52 has been shown.

Referring to the extension shaft 51, it will be seen that it is also preferably formed from tubular steel and that it has an auxiliary vertical column 53 with the same square cross-section as the vertical column 31 so that the cap portion 25 of a base cap may be seated thereon in the same manner as previously described with reference to seating the cap portion 25 on the top of the vertical column 31. In keeping with the previously stated desideratum that the parts be readily assembled, the extension shaft 51 has a collar 54, also preferably of generally square cross-section, secured by welding or the like to the lower end of the auxiliary column 53. The collar 54 has an inside diameter slightly greater than the outside diameter of the vertical column 31 so that it may be slipped thereover and then attached thereto such as by a bolt 55.

A feature of the present invention is that the configuration of the support structure may be tailored to the requirements of the equipment to be supported with little additional effort required of the assembler. To illustrate this, a variety of alternative base caps are shown. It should be understood that this showing is merely exemplary and not exhaustive as other alternative base caps will be immediately apparent.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 6lO, it will be seen that the base caps there shown all have a box-like cap portion 25 open downwardly to fit over the top of the vertical column 31 (FIG. 2) or the top of the auxiliary vertical column 53 (FIGS. 5 and 7-10). It will also be seen that o the base caps referred to are all characterized by having at least one arm 24 secured to the cap portion 25 by welding or the like and extending horizontally therefrom. However, to enable the support structure to be tailored to the requirements of the equipment which is to be supported, the base caps shown in FIGS. 3 and 6-10 differ in the number and orientation of the support arms 24. More specifically, the right-hand two-way corner 21 of FIG. 3 and the left-hand two-way corner 61 of FIG. 8 both have a pair of arms 24 extending at right angles to one another. The one-way L 62 of FIG. 7 has a single arm 24. The three-way T-crosses 52 and 63 shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, respectively, have a pair of oppositely directed arms 24 and a third arm 24 extending at right angles to this pair. Finally, the four-way cross 64 of FIG. 10 has two pairs of oppositely directed arms 24 with the arms of one pair extending at right angles with respect to the arms of the other.

To provide additional flexibility in the support structure which may be constructed, any one of the base caps may be formed with a top post 65 welded to the cap portion 25 to extend vertically upwardly therefrom. The top post 25 is preferably formed of tubular steel with the same square cross-section as the vertical column 31 so that a base cap may be seated on the top thereof as part of a multilevel support structure.

FIG. 11 illustrates a simple base cap 66 with only a cap portion 25. This may be used to provide a Watertight termination for the vertical column 31, the auxiliary vertical column 53, or the top post 65.

SUMMARY From the foregoing, it should now be clear that a novel support structure which is readily transported and assembled by one man has been provided. It should also be clear that the support structure is ideally suited for rooftop type installation as Well as other locations. Finally, it should be understood that the possible support structure configurations constructed in accordance with this invention are virtually unlimited.

1 claim as my invention:

1. A post for providing watertight mounting of a support structure on a roof having roofing material overlying structural members, said post comprising the combination of a rigid, load supporting, vertical column adapted to be attached at its lower end to one of the structural members, a connecting strip secured in surrounding relationship to the column slightly above the normal level of the roof and adapted to be fastened to the roofing material, a skirt flaring downwardly from a narrow neck secured to the column beneath and substantially adjacent the connecting strip to a broader base for supporting the roofing material fastened to the connecting strip and providing drainage away therefrom, and a hood joined to the column and overhanging the connecting strip to deflect precipitation away therefrom.

2. The post of claim 1 wherein said column is hollow, and both the skirt and hood are formed of sheet metal configured to form respective truncated pyramids surrounding the column, and further including a base plate secured to the lower end of the column for anchoring the column to a structural member.

3. The post of claim 4 wherein said skirt is shaped as a tetrahedral truncated pyramid whereby the roofing material may be lapped over the skirt for fastening to the connecting strip with minimum disturbance of the normal pattern of the roofing material, and further including an auxiliary weather shield for the connecting strip formed by an angle member surrounding the column with a horizontal leg secured to the column immediately above the connecting strip and a vertical leg extending downwardly to enclose all but the lowermost portion of the connecting strip.

4. A post for providing watertight mounting of a support structure on a roof characterized by a given roofing material overlying structural members throughout substantially the entire extent of said roof, said post comprising the combination of a rigid, load supporting, vertical column adapted to be attached at its lower end below the normal level of said roof to at least one of said structural members, a skirt flaring downwardly from a narrow neck portion secured to said column slightly above the normal level of said roof to a broader base portion positioned below the normal level of said roof for providing underlying support for said roofing material and thereby supplying drainage away from said column, and a hood joined to said column and overhanging the neck portion of said skirt to deflect precipitation away therefrom.

5. The post of claim 4 wherein said column is hollow and both the skirt and hood are formed of sheet metal to thereby provide a lightweight structurally strong post,

and further including a base plate secured to the lower end of the column for anchoring the column to said struc tural member.

6. A lightweight, portable support structure comprising the combination of a plurality of posts for providing watertight mounting of said structure on a roof having roofing material overlying structural members, and a plurality of support rails each extending between two of said posts; each of said posts including a load supporting, vertical column adapted to be attached at its lower end below the normal level of said roof to at least one of said structural 'members, a box-like cap portion opening downwardly over the vertical column to be removably seated thereupon, at least one arm extending horizontally from said cap portion, a skirt flaring downwardly from a narrow neck portion secured to said column slightly above the normal level of said roof to a broader base portion positioned below the normal level of said roof for providing underlying support for said roofing material and thereby supplying drainage away from said column, and a hood joined to said column and overhanging the neck portion of said skirt to deflect precipitation away therefrom; and each of said rails being slidably interfit at one end with the arm extending from one of said cap portions and at the other end with the arm extending from another of said cap portions.

7. The support structure of claim 6 further including for each of said posts a connecting strip surrounding said column adjacent to and above the neck portion of said skirt and adapted to be secured to said roofing material.

8. The support structure of claim 7 wherein the columns, cap portions, rails, and arms are all of generally square cross-section whereby the support may be assembled in situ with minimum preliminary orientation of the columns and cap portions and of the arms and rails.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,372,707 4/1945 Blome 52-218 2,970,676 2/1961 Maciunas 52-280 3,065,572 11/1962 Weingartner 52-62 3,209,669 10/1965 Bayne 52219 3,272,582 9/1966 Anderson et al. 52--280 3,367,072 2/1968 Walz et al. 52173 HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner. S. D. BURKE, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

